Battle of Beamfleot (893)
The Battle of Beamfleot was fought in 893 between the West Saxon army of King Alfred the Great and the Danish army of Hastein. The Danes were forced to retreat to their camp at Hunstanton on the River Ouse, having lost half of their men (including Dagfinn, who was captured), although they were able to recapture the seer Skade before Uhtred of Bebbanburg could capture her. Background In the winter of 892, the outlawed Uhtred of Bebbanburg rode to Aylesbury with his companions, having been advised by King Alfred the Great's daughter Aethelflaed to beg her father for an army with which he could assault the Viking base at Beamfleot, free the imprisoner seer Skade, and have her break the curse she had placed on him. Alfred refused to give Uhtred troops, but his son Prince Edward decided to promise Uhtred 500 troops for his attack on Beamfleot. Edward did so with the hope that Uhtred's victory would destroy the Viking leader Hastein's force and weaken the main Danish army before a great battle could be fought. Battle Uhtred and a force of 30 horsemen approached the gates of Beamfleot, where Uhtred taunted Hastein and told him that, just as he had fled at the Battle of Beamfleot in 886 and at the Siege of Wincelcumb in 892, he would again be forced to flee, or would die in the fortress. Uhtred and his men then withdrew to a clearing between the woods, where King Alfred and his son Edward waited in ambush with the main army. Uhtred and his men waited for hours until they heard the rumbling of the ground, and they formed a circular shield wall as Hastein's men charged them. Uhtred and his men fought off several Vikings, but King Alfred chose not to charge into battle, hoping that he could have both Hastein and Uhtred die in battle and therefore get rid of two of his rivals. Alfred then told Edward that it was his decision what to do, so Edward ordered his men to charge before Uhtred's men could be overwhelmed. The West Saxon ambush turned the tide of the battle, with Edward himself charging into battle. Hastein knocked out Skade when she tried to flee to Uhtred, as she had promised that whoever defeated Hastein would be her new man; Hastein then placed Skade on his horse and rode off. Uhtred's objective of freeing Skade failed, but Hastein's army was destroyed, and his right-hand man Dagfinn and several other warriors were captured. Aftermath In the long term, the battle turned out to be a decisive West Saxon victory. Skade would be freed by Uhtred's lieutenant Sihtric, who had pretended to defect to the Danes in order to spy on their leaders. In addition, Hastein and Bloodhair would soon become rivals due to their competition over Skade, who ultimately poisoned Bloodhair before a duel with Hastein and killed him after he attempted to kill her instead of Hastein. Finally, King Alfred gained faith in his son's abilities, saying that he had not behaved like an Aetheling at Beamfleot, but as a King. Category:Viking invasions of England Category:Battles